Name: Anupam Kher
Profession: Actor, director, producer, author, motivational speaker
Nationality: Indian
Known for: Saaransh, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Darr, The Kashmir Files, New Amsterdam
Biography:
Anupam Kher, born into a middle-class Kashmiri Pandit family in Shimla, has become one of India’s most versatile and celebrated actors with a career spanning over four decades and more than 540 films. His father, Pushkar Nath Kher, was a clerk in the forest department of Himachal Pradesh, and his mother, Dulari Kher, was a housewife.
In his childhood, he was a below-average student who never scored more than 38 marks and was mediocre at sports, but excelled in theatre and drama.
After studying economics at Government College, Himachal Pradesh University in Shimla, Kher dropped out to pursue Indian theatre at Panjab University, Chandigarh.
In 1978, he graduated from the National School of Drama (NSD) in New Delhi. During his struggling days as an actor in Mumbai, he even slept on a railway platform for a month.
Kher made his breakthrough with Mahesh Bhatt’s “Saaransh” (1984), where his portrayal of a 60-year-old man dealing with the loss of his son earned him widespread acclaim and the Filmfare Award for Best Actor. The film was also chosen as India’s official entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Kher established himself as a versatile performer, excelling in both comedic and dramatic roles. He won acclaim for negative roles in films like “Karma” (1986), “Tezaab” (1988), and “ChaalBaaz” (1989), and for his comedic performances in “Ram Lakhan” (1989), which earned him the Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Comic Role.
Besides working in Hindi films, Kher has appeared in acclaimed international films such as “Bend It Like Beckham” (2002), Ang Lee’s “Lust, Caution” (2007), and David O. Russell’s “Silver Linings Playbook” (2012). From 2018, he starred in the NBC medical drama series “New Amsterdam” as Dr. Vijay Kapoor.
Kher has held prestigious positions, including Chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification (2003-2004) and Chairman of the Film and Television Institute of India (2017-2018). He is the founder of Actor Prepares, an acting institute in Mumbai, and has written several books, including “The Best Thing About You is You!” and “Lessons Life Taught Me Unknowingly”.
In recent years, Kher gained massive recognition for his role in “The Kashmir Files” (2022), which became a major commercial success. His recent films include “Uunchai” (2022), “The Vaccine War” (2023), and “Emergency” (2025).
Awards and Accolades:
- Two National Film Awards and eight Filmfare Awards
- Padma Shri (2004) and Padma Bhushan (2016) for contribution to Indian cinema and arts
- BAFTA nomination for supporting role in “The Boy with the Topknot” (2018)
Interesting Facts:
- He is a staunch believer in astrology and co-founder of People for Animals (PFA), one of India’s largest animal welfare organizations
- He is the only actor to win the Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Comic Role 5 times
- In 2016, he bought his first house for his family in Shimla and gifted it to his mother, naming it “Kherwadi”
Social Media:
- Instagram: @anupampkher
- Twitter: @AnupamPKher
